


A Whale of a Tale

by SubMeowchineGun



Series: It’s Always Sunny On Nuxena [3]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: Rebels
Genre: F/M, Gen, actually SURPRISE I've decided this is canon with the "main" storyline, also might add more later, canon in the sense that the space whales did indeed happen, here have an au of my au, spoilers for the rebels finale, there's not much to tag for really
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-14
Updated: 2019-01-11
Packaged: 2019-03-31 04:26:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 19,430
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13967313
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SubMeowchineGun/pseuds/SubMeowchineGun
Summary: The Purrgil don't take Ezra quite where he intended, but it all works out anyway.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Well that certainly was a finale! If nothing else, I'm pleasantly surprised that they didn't kill off Thrawn, so here, have a one-off AU of my AU while I work on the actual sequel for Cabin Fever
> 
> this was supposed to be short, but here I am 8,000 words later :V

The  _ Chimaera's _ struts creaked, groaning in protest as it exited hyperspace. A star destroyer was not designed to enter hyperspace by any other means than those provided by its own hyperdrive, and the Purrgil's grip around the ship was far from being gentle. With a low sound, the creature began extricating itself, further warping the walls of the bridge as it pulled its tentacles back. Now that their hold had loosened, Thrawn quickly squirmed out of the Purrgil's grasp, lest he be pulled out as well. He stumbled when a stray tentacle caught around his foot, but with a shake he was able to pull free. 

Across the bridge stood Ezra Bridger, still holding the doors behind him shut with the force. Ezra hadn't moved, even as Thrawn righted himself. By all appearances he was calm and self-assured, even as behind him troopers attempted to open the door. Thrawn spared a glanced out the broken transparisteel window, frowning at the sight of what seemed to be a nondescript and endless sea of trees. 

“It's no use,” Ezra said, drawing Thrawn's attention, “We're in the middle of nowhere. And with how damaged this ship is, it won't be going anywhere any time soon. You're stuck here.” He was sporting a wry grin, undeterred by Thrawn's deepening frown.

“I believe you mean  _ we're _ stuck here, Commander Bridger,” Thrawn replied, “Seeing as you also have no means of leaving.” 

“Looks that way,” Ezra said, seemingly without a care. The noise behind him grew louder, then there was the sound of a plasma torch firing up. A spot of orange appeared on the closed doors, slowly cutting an opening. It would take awhile, with how thick the bridge doors were, but it was only a matter of time now until the troopers had a way in. Ezra didn't look concerned by this in the slightest, though Thrawn could tell that underneath his calm, he was carefully considering how to escape. The comm on Thrawn's belt chirped, signaling an incoming call. 

“Please, don't let me stop you,” Ezra said cheerfully, nodding towards the steadily beeping comm. Thrawn narrowed his eyes at him, keeping a careful watch on the Jedi even as he unclipped his comm and answered it.

“Yes?” Thrawn asked, and the surprise was visible on his face a few seconds later at the voice that answered.

“Oh, okay, so it  _ is _ you,” a woman's voice said, one that Ezra didn't recognize. “I was pretty sure that was the  _ Chimaera _ , but I also wasn't expecting to see it again for another few months at least, and y'all showed up with a bunch of... Purrgil? Wrapped around it? And now they're leaving, and I guess I'm just wondering what's going on? Like, should I be concerned?” Thrawn's face smoothed back to it's usual expression, though now he had a small, triumphant smirk as he maintained his gaze on Ezra. For the first time since they'd left Lothal, Ezra frowned.

“Ah, Governor Morastus,” Thrawn said, “There is no need for concern, I assure you. It seems we are less stranded than I had feared.” Ezra's eyes widened in alarm at that. His vision of this path hadn't shown this happening, the Purrgil should have taken them to a completely uninhabited planet, where they wouldn't be stumbled upon. Instead, it seemed that they'd ended up on a planet under Imperial control, and one that Thrawn was familiar with to boot. Ezra's eyes darted to the broken windows; were the Purrgil still near enough that he could call them back with the force? Why would they drop them  _ here? _ He was sure, if he could reach them, he could get them to jump them to someplace else. Ezra closed his eyes, trying to calm the beginnings of panic and reach out with the force. 

“Okay, I hear you telling me not to be concerned,” the voice, Governor Morastus, replied, “But I feel like I should be concerned.” Ezra's brow furrowed as he tried to reach the Purrgil and found them just out of reach. They were already out of this planet's atmosphere and if they noticed his attempt, they ignored it. He opened his eyes again, just in time to catch a flash of exasperation cross Thrawn's face, gone as quick as it had come. “Also,” Morastus continued, “Forks is kind of freaking out. It's just rolling around the porch, yelling something in binary and looking at your ship.” 

Ezra glanced back; the troopers were making progress on the door more quickly than he'd anticipated, now a little over halfway through. He looked back at Thrawn, who was still watching him, but seemed at least partially distracted by his conversation with the Governor. This was probably the best opportunity he'd get, and when Ezra felt the smallest nudge from the force, he acted without question. At the same second he dropped his hold on the door, he darted to the side, dodging around Thrawn and aiming for one of the broken windows. The doors slammed open behind him, the troopers and technicians shouting in surprise as bits of molten durasteel went flying. Thrawn's full attention was back on him as soon as Ezra had moved, turning with a raised blaster to track him. 

Ezra flung out his hand, throwing a force push that knocked Thrawn's aim off, and sending the blaster bolt into the floor instead. The troopers had collected themselves by the time he'd reached the window, pouring onto the bridge and firing at Ezra as he vaulted through it. He used the force to slow his fall, but even rolling as he landed didn't stop it from jarring his whole body. There wasn't time to stop though, so he pushed himself up again, running for the edge of the ship. Ezra didn't exactly have a plan yet, running solely on instinct and the force. Blaster bolts peppered the area around him, straying further the farther away he got. Once he reached the edge of the ship, they'd stopped coming entirely. 

Cautiously, Ezra leaned forward to look past the edge. It hadn't been clear from a distance, but the ground was a lot closer than he'd thought. The  _ Chimaera _ had narrowly avoided colliding with a mountain when it had left hyperspace, and the tree-covered mountain side might even be within jumping distance. He looked back at the bridge, and over the wide expanse of the top of the ship. He didn't see any troopers yet, but there were without a doubt some on their way. At another nudge from the force, he looked back down at the trees below. 

“Well, here goes nothing,” Ezra sighed. He stepped back, then took a running leap off the edge of the  _ Chimaera _ , slowing himself as much as he possibly could with the force. It wrapped around him like a warm blanket, and Ezra shielded his face with his arms as he rapidly approached the treetops. He  _ really _ hoped this was going to work.

* * *

 

Thrawn frowned as he ordered the troopers to cease fire. Bridger was out of range by now for any of the troopers' blasters to hit. He put the ship on full alert and sent a few squads onto the hull to catch him. Bridger hadn't brought his lightsaber when he'd surrendered, which should improve their odds of catching him. It wasn't until he holstered his blaster that he realized he was still holding his comm in his other hand, which he'd never hung up.

“Okay!” Liryn said, her voice noticeably distressed, “Now I'm  _ definitely _ concerned! What is going on!” Thrawn held in a sigh, bringing the comm back up.

“One moment, Governor,” he told her, then muted the comm, cutting off whatever her reply might have been and turning to an officer in the crew pit. “Get me a report on the current status of all ship systems, and inform me of any developments in Ezra Bridger's capture.” The officer nodded sharply, turning away to give orders of their own. Thrawn left the bridge, briskly walking to his office. Once the door was shut securely behind him and he'd settled down at his desk, he linked his personal comm into the holocomm built into his desk and took it off of mute. After a few seconds, a view of Liryn from the waist up flickered into view. She had an angry frown on her face, but the rest of her expression and the tension in her shoulders screamed concern.

“Did you just  _ mute me? _ ” Liryn demanded, incredulous. She didn't give him a chance to answer, pausing for a scant few seconds before she was talking again. “Actually no, nevermind, I don't care – was that  _ blasterfire?  _ Are you alright? Please tell you didn't get shot again.” Liryn was looking increasingly frazzled with each question, and in the background Thrawn could hear the muffled sound of a distressed droid wailing.

“I'm perfectly fine, Liryn, I haven't been shot,” Thrawn told her gently, his voice as soothing as he could make it with potential plans for apprehending Bridger still at the forefront of his mind. It must have been enough, because Liryn took a deep breath, all of the tension flooding out of her when she released it.

“Okay, good, that's good,” she said, slouching tiredly, “So what's going on? I thought you were supposed to be on the other side of the galaxy right now?” 

“I was,” Thrawn agreed with a nod, “However, there was a Jedi in our custody. I believe he commanded the Purrgil you saw to take the  _ Chimaera _ to hyperspace, though it seems he did not intend for us to land here on Nuxena.” Liryn blinked at him with wide eyes.

“Wait, really? An  _ actual _ Jedi? I thought they were all gone.” Liryn's face wavered between surprise and mild alarm, and Thrawn let his own expression turn serious.

“Yes, and it is likely that he is no longer aboard the  _ Chimaera _ ,” he told her, “He will be on Nuxena by now, somewhere in the area directly below or around the ship.”

“Oh boy,” Liryn muttered, “So I guess we're doing the whole search rigmarole again, huh.” She only looked a little put out, and was already typing something into what Thrawn assumed was her comm.

“I'm afraid that it is necessary, yes,” Thrawn agreed, then sighed quietly. “I don't suppose that you're in town, are you?” Liryn looked back up at him and shook her head.

“No, I'm at home,” she confirmed, “Though if it makes you feel any better, Kothe was on their way over before you got here, and Kiran's here like always.” At the mere mention of his name, Kiran's head practically materialized into view just above Liryn's hip, sending her stumbling slightly out of frame for a moment as the strill presumably slammed into her legs. “And it's not like I'm unarmed,” she added once she was fully back in view. Thrawn hummed quietly, still frowning. 

“That will do, I suppose,” he finally said. He would prefer that Liryn be in town, where help could more easily reach her, but he understood that there wasn't very much he could do to make her to leave her cabin, short of being there to physically move her himself. “I'll have the identifying information about the Jedi sent to you.” Then he paused, looking at Liryn almost pleadingly. “At least promise that you will remain inside, and contact me if something happens?” Liryn's expression softened at that, and she gave him wide smile.

“I promise,” she told him easily, then her grin quirked to one side. “Now stop making eyes at me and go catch your escaped Jedi,” Liryn teased, “Then maybe we can see each other in person before you have to leave again.”

* * *

 

Ezra groaned, rolling off of his stomach and onto his side. Between the force and a fortuitous amount of easily broken branches, his fall had been slowed enough that he'd come out mostly unscathed. He still had a number of small cuts from falling through so many branches, alongside a bone-deep ache in every muscle from the strain of tapping into the force so deeply and so quickly. Ezra wiggled his fingers and toes, just to be sure, and once he was certain everything was functioning correctly, he gingerly pushed himself to his feet. He thought he might have a mild concussion, based on the sudden dizziness once he got upright, but there was nothing to be done for it right now. He looked up, taking in  the hole his fall had made. Through it the  _ Chimaera _ hovered ominously, bearing visible damage from the Purrgil latching onto it.

The forest he was in was full of enormous evergreens, with patchy undergrowth that flourished in the sporadic patches of light that managed to filter through the canopy above. In the shadow of the star destroyer there was a slight chill to the air, but it wasn't anything unbearable. Ezra looked around for some indication of which way to go, but there was nothing he could see. There had to be some kind of civilization somewhere, since there was an Imperial Governor, but the area around him was untouched wilderness. The Governor had said she could see the  _ Chimaera _ over the comm, so it couldn't be too far, given how mountainous the planet had looked to be in this area. 

Ezra took a deep breath, opening himself to the force. He ignored the immediate presence of the planet beneath him and the forest around him, instead reaching for the larger, more nebulous part of the force that he'd used before to see the possible paths he might take. This time, instead the number of branching possibilities it had given him before, it offered nothing. Ezra frowned as he opened his eyes. This entire situation was already completely different from the path he'd seen, and he still couldn't figure out where exactly the path had diverged. Then he felt a tug in the force, so subtle he almost didn't notice it. At first he thought it was from the forest around him, and when he focused on the feeling, most of it was. The rest felt like that deeper part of the force, trying to draw his attention.

The direction it was coming from didn't look different than any other; there was nothing resembling any kind of path out here, at least not that he could see. Either way it would lead him away from the the  _ Chimaera _ , which was his current priority anyway, so Ezra started walking. He wasn't going up or down the mountain he'd landed on, rather walking along a fairly flat section of ground with a short drop off on the lower side. Even moving more slowly than he usually would he made quick progress, reaching what he thought might be the opposite side of the mountain in what felt like no time at all. That's when the direction of the tug changed entirely, directing him down the mountain now.

Going down the mountain was much quicker that going along the side of it had been, especially once he got a rhythm going. Just as the ground was beginning to level out, Ezra broke through a rather dense wall of brush and onto a road. He slid to a stop, kicking up a cloud of dust in the process, and looked both ways. There were bends in either direction that prevented him from seeing very far, but off to the right he could hear the rapidly approaching sound of a speeder. He scrambled backwards into the brush, tripping over an inconveniently placed rock and falling flat on his back. Ezra hissed, rubbing the new lump on the back of his head while he pushed himself onto his elbows. He was suddenly aware of the sound of an idling speeder nearby, and his head shot up.

There was in fact a speeder, stopped on the road right in front of him. The driver, a pale green insectoid whose species he didn't recognize, was leaning out the speeder's open window, watching him with large silvery compound eyes.

“Uh, you need some help there, kid?” they asked, the words slightly delayed as the clicking sounds they made were run through a translator. Ezra just blinked at them for a few seconds, before quickly standing.

“Oh, yeah! Totally fine!” Ezra said, brushing fallen pine needles off his pants and wearing his most convincing grin. It was impossible to gauge whether or not they believed him from their lack of facial expression. He got his answer when they made a low buzzing noise, which their translator interpreted as a disbelieving snort.

“Uh huh. I don't recognize you from town, so what are doing out here?” Their tone was no-nonsense, and Ezra could see their head tilting ever-so-slightly to glance at the star destroy that was no doubt still visible behind him. He took a deep breath, centering himself.

“It doesn't matter why I'm out here,” Ezra told them with as much finality as he could manage, slowly waving his hand. 

“Uh, yeah it does,” they said after a moment, “C'mon kid, I've got better stuff to do than argue with you, do you want a ride or not?” They paused at his stunned expression, then leaned back with a palpable air of surprise. “Wait, were you just trying to mind whammy me?” They sounded closer to shocked than angry, and before Ezra could respond they were laughing, slapping the top of the speeder door.

“Uh,” Ezra tried, but they cut him off.

“Oh man, jokes on you kid, that doesn't work on me,” they told him, once their laughter had stopped enough for them to manage actual words again. “Okay, now I actually wanna know what your deal is! Kinky, move to the back.” This last part they aimed at the front passenger seat, which, now that Ezra looked, contained a white and yellow astromech.

“Why do I have to get in the back?” the droid argued, indignant, “He's the new guy! Plus, I called shotgun!” The insectoid sighed and did an impressive job of conveying an eye roll, considering that their eyes were stationary.

“Don't be rude, Kinky,” they told the droid, and with some grumbling in binary it maneuvered into the back seat. Then they turned to look at Ezra expectantly.

“Um, no, that's okay, really,” Ezra tried, taking a tentative step back and raising both hands placatingly.

“I'm assuming you're trying to get away from that star destroyer,” the insectoid said, nodding to the ship in question, “And there's gonna be a bunch of stormtroopers combing this whole area sooner rather than later. There's no way you're going to outrun them on foot.” Ezra frowned looking back at the  _ Chimaera _ . They were right, of course, and he didn't exactly have any other options.

“Alright,” he finally sighed. He walked around the front of the speeder and got in, settling into the seat as the speeder started moving.

“So, I'm Kothe,” the insectoid introduced themselves, “And this is Kinky.” Behind them, Kinky let out an electronic huff. 

“I'm Ezra,” he said after a moment of thought. Kothe nodded, not taking their eyes off the road in front of them.

“Alright, nice to meet you Ezra,” they said, “Now, what  _ is _ your deal?”

* * *

 

“Wait, wait, wait,” Ezra said, holding up a hand with disbelief on his face, “You don't have  _ lungs? _ ” 

“Nope!” Kothe chirped, clearly amused by his incredulity.

“Then how are you talking?” Ezra knew the question probably sounded rude, but Kothe didn't seem to mind.

“I've got an air bladder,  _ obviously _ ,” Kothe replied with a laugh, “You non-bugs nitpick over the weirdest things.” They'd pulled off the main road, as Kothe referred to it, a few minutes ago, and this new road was much narrower with more winding curves. 

“You're sure your friend will be able to help?” Ezra asked, glancing over at Kothe. He'd given them the broad strokes of what had happened, which had taken up the majority of the time it took to reach the side road they were driving down now.

“Well, based on what you told me, they're probably the only person on Nuxena who  _ can _ help, in this particular situation,” Kothe said. “Plus, Liryn's great. She might kick up a bit of a fuss at first, but she'll definitely help once you tell her what you told me.” Ezra made a face.

“It's nice that you're trying to be reassuring, but that kind of isn't,” he told them. In the backseat, Kinky whooped a laugh.

“Believe me, if anyone can deal with the weird Pantoran, it's Liryn,” Kinky said smugly, like she knew something he and Kothe didn't. Kothe made a noise that the translator either couldn't or wouldn't parse.

“Kinky, you know full well that he's Chiss, so could you not? Just this once?” Kothe asked, exasperated, and Kinky whirred something in binary that Ezra didn't quite catch.

“What are guys talking about?” Ezra asked, and Kothe sighed.

“The last time Thrawn was here, Kinky went around convincing everyone in town that he's a subspecies of Pantoran,” they explained, and Kinky practically cackled.

“It was great!” she crowed, “And nobody around here knows enough about Pantorans to dispute it!” The droid sounded enormously pleased by this, while Kothe did their pseudo eye roll again. 

“Alright, enough, we're here,” Kothe said. They'd rounded a bend, the trees on either side of the road disappearing to reveal a clearing dominated by a sizable cabin, with a freestanding one-speeder garage nearby. Kothe parked the speeder in the area in front of the garage, far enough to the side that they wouldn't be blocking anything. Kinky was the first out, popping open a backdoor with a manipulator arm and hopping out with the clunking sound of treads hitting the ground. As Kothe was climbing out, the cabin door facing them opened and a thin human woman stepped out. She smiled at Kothe, and when she stepped out onto the cabin's large side porch a golden, furry blur shot out of the cabin past her. It raced over to Kothe, dancing around the Gand until they grabbed a hold of it and forced it to stop.

“How do you have so much energy all the time?” Kothe asked the creature, hands buried in it's long coat. The strill, as Ezra now realized it was, only panted happily in response. He jumped when something banged on the speeder door, looking over and seeing Kinky's dome level with the window. He pulled the handle and opened it once the droid moved, climbing out. Here, in full sunlight, it was comfortably warm, the slight chill he'd felt in the shade gone entirely. Kothe was still busy with the strill, pushing its excess skin around the animal's happy face. The woman, who Ezra assumed was Liryn, had looked over when his door opened, and was now staring at him with wide eyes. She looked down at the comm in her hand, then back to him, repeating this process a few times before speaking.

“I thought this picture was just old!” she exclaimed, “You're practically a  _ baby! _ ” Kothe didn't seem phased by Liryn's outburst.

“Hey, I'm almost eighteen!” Ezra defended automatically, and Kinky laughed next to him.

“That's  _ practically a baby! _ ” Liryn insisted, then turned to Kothe, “I don't –! Kothe, what is this?” At that, Liryn flung out a hand in Ezra's direction, looking mildly distressed.

“Okay,” Kothe started, “You're kinda freaking out, and I need you to  _ not _ freak out, okay Liryn?” They waited a few seconds to see if Liryn would interrupt, then kept going. “So there's  _ totally _ a reasonable explanation for why I brought a wanted space monk to your house, which Ezra here would be happy to explain. Right Ezra?” He nodded enthusiastically, giving Liryn an innocent smile. “So how about we go inside, and we explain everything?” Liryn frowned, chewing on her bottom lip as she thought. Eventually, after Ezra had begun to tense and ready himself for something going wrong, she let out a breath.

“Alright, then come in I guess,” Liryn said, turning around and walking back to the door. “Kiran!” Liryn called the name over her shoulder, and the strill scrambled up from where it'd been leaning on Kothe, galloping with all six legs after the woman. They both disappeared inside, and Ezra glanced at Kothe when they met at the porch steps.

“I really hope you're right,” he muttered, almost tripping when Kinky aggressively bumped into his legs. Kothe slapped a hand between his shoulders.

“Don't worry, I am,” they said, climbing the steps and leading him into the cabin.

* * *

 

Across the wooden table from him, Liryn pressed the heel of one palm against her forehead, letting out a frustrated sigh. Ezra had just finished repeating for Liryn what he'd told Kothe, and the woman had been silent for the last few minutes.

“Are you okay?” he asked, and Liryn held up a finger in the universal  _ 'give me a minute' _ sign. Then she took a deep breath, sitting up straight once more.

“So, and please correct if I'm wrong,” she started, “Your plan was to use the Purrgil to jump yourself, Thrawn, and the rest of the  _ Chimaera _ to the middle of nowhere?” Ezra nodded and she continued. “And that was the  _ entire _ plan?”

“It was the best path that the force showed me,” he explained, which made Liryn sigh again. “They were supposed to take us somewhere uninhabited, I don't know why they dropped us here!”

“Well I'm glad they did,” Liryn muttered to herself, then spoke again at normal volume, “And you just want to keep him away from the Empire for awhile?”

“Yes,” Ezra answered, his face serious. “Thrawn's too dangerous to let him get back in the fight. If he's out there helping the Empire, the Rebellion doesn't stand a chance.” Liryn rested her chin in her palm, looking pensive.

“Alright,” she straightened in her seat after another few minutes. “I think I can help. But –,” at this, she pointed at Ezra, “You have listen to me, or there's not much I'm going to be able to do, got it?” Ezra examined her face, taking in how determined it was, before he nodded in agreement.

“Got it,” he confirmed. Liryn nodded, half to herself, and grabbed a datapad off one of her kitchen counters. She began rapidly scrolling through something, though all Ezra could see at this angle were large amounts of text flying by. She stood up, wandering around the open first floor of the cabin and muttering to herself as she read. Ezra and Kothe watched her, the Gand munching on some kind of cookie they'd snagged from Liryn's kitchen.

“Is this normal?” Ezra asked, leaning towards Kothe and speaking in a low, almost conspiratorial tone. Kothe snorted around a mouthful.

“Is this situation normal?” they countered.

“Well, you'd be surprised,” Ezra said with a wry grin. A few feet away, Liryn abruptly stopped, lowering the datapad with a sigh.

“So I found what I was looking for,” she said, waving the datapad to indicate it, “But either way this is gonna suck, in one form or another.” Liryn tapped something on the datapad before giving Ezra a serious look. “I can't make any promises about this working.”

“I'd say whatever you've got is better than him wandering around the woods until he runs into stormtroopers or a bear – and the troopers would be the better option,” Kothe deadpanned. Then they paused, looking around the kitchen and living room. “Where's Forks? I thought Thrawn left it with you?” 

“I had to lock it in my room to get it to stop yelling,” Liryn shrugged, using a thumb to indicate an interior door off the kitchen. Ezra blinked in confusion for a moment, before his brain processed what Kothe had said and his eyes widened.

“Wait,  _ you're _ Governor Morastus?” he exclaimed. Liryn just raised an eyebrow at him.

“Only technically,” Liryn told him, “But yes, I'm Liryn Morastus, I own Nuxena. Did you really not know that?” She glanced at Kothe, who just shrugged, then back at Ezra. “Why is that so surprising?” Ezra was at a loss, and just shook his head.

“I don't know,” he said, “All the Imperial Governors I've known have been kind of terrible, honestly.” Liryn  gave him a flat look, propping her hands on her hips.

“Good to know I'm not terrible,” she said archly. Then Liryn shook her head, pulling her commlink from her pocket and staring at it with a frown. She made a frustrated noise in the back of her throat, looking like the comm link had single-handedly set fire to her kitchen. “Kothe, I deputized you, right?” Liryn asked without looking away from the comm. 

“Hmmm... Yeah, I think so,” Kothe answered, pausing in the process of eating another cookie. They shoved the entire thing in their mouth, crunching loudly as Liryn nodded.

“Okay. As of now, you are officially in charge of watching Ezra until I'm back,” Liryn told them. Kothe gave her a wordless thumbs-up, leaning back in their seat. “Kiran, stay.” The strill, who had stood from where he was laying to follow her to the cabin's side door, reluctantly sat down, whining lowly as Liryn opened the door and made to leave.

“Hold on, where are you going?” Ezra asked, standing from his seat. The look Liryn gave him made Ezra feel like he'd just asked a stupid question, but he held his ground.

“To talk to Thrawn,” Liryn told him, matter-of-fact. “What, did you want me to tell him to come down here?” 

“What? No!” Ezra replied, “But if you go up there and whatever this is doesn't work, then you'll probably end up thrown in a cell, and that's at best!”

“Pretty sure it won't come to that,” Liryn told him calmly, as if she really didn't believe that was a possible result of whatever her plan was. “Also, remember how I said you needed to listen to me, or this wouldn't work? Well right now, I'm telling you to sit down, stay put, and let me deal with this.” Ezra opened his mouth to argue, but snapped it shut when Liryn gave him a glare that was oddly reminiscent of Hera.

“Fine,” he acquiesced, sitting back down. Liryn eyed him for a few more seconds, presumably to make sure he was actually going to stay put, before walking out the door, shutting it firmly behind her.

* * *

 

Thrawn frowned as he looked over the report on the current state of the  _ Chimaera _ . The ship was in fairly bad shape, and thanks to the damage to the bridge it was nowhere near being space-worthy. The accompanying star destroyers he'd set up as a blockade around Lothal had apparently been pulled into hyperspace by Purrgil as well, though they were thankfully devoid of any hull breaches that couldn't be sectioned off. Thrawn had made contact with Captain Pellaeon shortly after he'd finished his call with Liryn; he'd been relieved to find out that the man had survived the jump, and that at the very least the life support and backup generators were still working on all the other destroyers. None of the ships' comm arrays had survived the Purrgil's grasp however, and communications were relegated to the limitations of shortwave comms. 

Speaking of comms, Thrawn's began to beep. He picked it up, hoping that there was some trace of Bridger that the scouts had found, or better yet, that they'd managed to find and capture the Jedi.

“Yes?” Thrawn answered in a clipped tone, still paying half his attention to the possible logistics of ship repair at this scale.

“Sir, Governor Morastus is requesting landing clearance,” one of the bridge officers informed him, sounding a bit nervous. Thrawn automatically looked at the comm, his eyes narrowing as he thought. Under the current circumstances, his mind immediately jumped to the worst-case scenario – that Ezra Bridger had taken Liryn hostage, and intended to use her as a bargaining chip – but he swiftly dismissed it. Bridger had already tried something similar with Pryce, and he had no reason to believe Thrawn's relationship with Liryn was anything more than professional. Not to mention there was little reason for him to even attempt to get back on board, given the current state of the ship.

“Um, sir?” the bridge officer asked tentatively, and Thrawn blinked. He hadn't realized how long he'd been quiet for.

“Give the Governor landing clearance,” Thrawn finally told them, “And have someone ready to escort her to my office.” It didn't pay to be careless, after all. Bridger had already proven willing to take large risks for comparatively small rewards, so there was still a chance he could be using this as an opportunity to get back aboard.

“Of course, sir,” the officer said, and Thrawn ended the call. It would take more than a few minutes for Liryn to land and make the trip here, which should give him time to finish looking over this report. The sheer amount of damage to the ship made it an arduous task however, and he was still reading ten minutes later when there was an entry request at his office door.  He approved it after a brief glance and the door slid open to reveal Lieutenant Jarrde, followed by Liryn and a pair of stormtroopers. Jarrde came to a stop a few feet from Thrawn’s desk, standing at attention.

“Sir, Governor Morastus has arrived,” he announced, and Thrawn set aside his still-unfinished datapad.

“Excellent. You are dismissed,” Thrawn told Jarrde and the troopers as he stood, rounding his desk. The Lieutenant nodded and turned sharply on his heel, leaving with both troopers close behind. He and Liryn both watched them go, then Thrawn glanced down at her. She wasn’t dressed anywhere near as heavily as she’d been the last time he’d seen her, making her look less like a child rolled in a thick comforter, and more like a properly proportioned adult. He raised a brow when she finally looked at him.

“You didn’t bring your strill?” he asked her.

“No, I left him at home with Kothe,” Liryn said with a small shrug. There was a tension to her shoulders again, much like during their earlier call, and Thrawn frowned. He thought he’d done enough earlier to reassure her, but evidently not. He stepped closer, and when he reached out to pull her in she practically threw herself at him, knocking the breath out of him as she squeezed ribs already bruised by the Purrgil, and from being thrown across the bridge multiple times by Ezra Bridger. At the inadvertent pained sound he made, Liryn’s grip immediately loosened and she leaned back to look up at him in surprise. 

“What’s wrong?” she demanded, looking alarmed, “I thought you said you were fine!” Thrawn settled his hands on her upper arms.

“I am fine,” he tried to reassure her, “It’s only some bruising, it’s hardly serious.” Liryn still frowned at him, her expression warring between concern and apprehension. She obviously had something to say, so Thrawn just gently rubbed her arms, waiting for Liryn to gather her thoughts.

“I need to talk to you,” she finally settled on.

“Alright,” Thrawn answered, though this didn’t seem to calm her any. “Would you like to sit down?” Liryn shook her head vehemently, her hair flying haphazardly around her face.

“I just –,” she started, pausing again for a moment before continuing, “I don’t want you to leave again.” Thrawn could feel her hands clenched in the fabric of his tunic. 

“You almost  _ died _ today. Purrgil don’t care about whether the place they’re jumping to has an atmosphere or not, and I saw just how much damage the  _ Chimaera _ has when I came up. They’re infinitely more likely to have jumped to someplace in open space than here, it’s only sheer luck that you ended up at Nuxena, much less far enough in atmosphere to survive. You could have died, and there wouldn’t have even been anyone left that would think to tell me.” She stopped there, her jaw clenched as she looked up at him.

“I can’t neglect my responsibilities simply because I  _ might _ get hurt,” Thrawn told her calmly, “I have a duty to the Empire.”  _ And a duty to the Ascendency. _

“You already nearly died once,” Liryn protested, “And instead of keeping you in bacta like they should have, Palpatine had you pulled out once you were barely healed and sent off to the middle of nowhere!” She was beginning to get the look Thrawn had come to associate with Liryn metaphorically digging her heels in, and he shifted them both backward so he could lean against his desk to wait it out. “That’s not even mentioning that the Empire’s already starting to fall.” Thrawn raised a brow at that.

“I hardly think the situation is so dire,” he countered, letting his hands fall to rest more naturally at Liryn’s waist while she shook her head. 

“The fact that there’s so much open rebellion already, along with how much the Moffs have been mismanaging things in the outer, and even the mid rim? Even in the inner core people are starting to catch on to some of the things the Empire’s tried to sweep under the rug.” Liryn stopped to take a breath, forcing her grip on his tunic to loosen. 

“My point is, even if the Empire isn’t acknowledging it, there’s already a civil war going on with the Rebellion. I’d give it another five years, maybe six at most, before everything falls completely apart. And sure, maybe if you went back as soon as possible, you could add a few years to that, but it would only be putting off the inevitable. When the Empire falls, whether it’s in two years or twenty, it’s going to fall  _ hard, _ and I don’t want you to end up as just another casualty. You know, like you  _ almost did today. _ ” Finally finished, Liryn leaned forward and rested her forehead against his chest. Thrawn stared down at the top of her head, silently mulling over everything she’d said.

Thrawn was hesitant to admit she had a bit of a point, even if it was just to himself mentally. Even when he’d first joined, he’d made note of the multitude of tiny cracks in the foundations of the Empire. They’d only become worse over the years, and every attempt to patch them had ended up being a temporary measure at best. The Emperor had never showed much concern over this either, as far as Thrawn could tell. There were more than a few times he could have cut his mission short, declared the Empire unsalvageable and left it to burn out like a dying sun. He’d made his own attempts to nudge the Empire in the right direction, small scale though they’d been. If there was ever an opportunity to step back and see if the Empire could manage to right itself without outside influence, this was the perfect one.

“And you think hiding in the middle of nowhere at the edge of the galaxy is a good idea?” Thrawn asked, not unkindly, and Liryn let out a snort of laughter.

“Well, I jumped at the first opportunity to leave Imperial space and come to Nuxena, so I figured the answer to that question would be obvious,” she said without looking up, and Thrawn couldn’t help a quiet hum of amusement at that.

“So you expect three star destroyers worth of crew to just go along with this?” he asked, “Since that is the only way what you are proposing would work.” Liryn leaned back just enough so he could see her roll her eyes.

“Please, if Pellaeon’s any indication, the crew might even follow you if you joined the rebels.” Liryn said this with complete confidence, and Thrawn couldn’t help the surprise on his face at that idea. “That was an just example, not a suggestion,” she quickly added after seeing his expression, “I want you to stay  _ here, _ not just put yourself on the opposite side of this whole thing, where you’d be arguably  _ more _ likely to get hurt or killed.”

“That’s good, since I have no intention of joining the rebellion,” Thrawn said after a beat. The shift in tone the conversation had taken, from serious to the more casual manner of their usual exchanges, had calmed Liryn down considerably. There was still an undercurrent of nervous energy to her words, but that was likely from the fact that he had yet to give any kind of solid answer to her request. She was looking up at him now, expectant and hopeful. 

“Even if I were to stay here, there’s still the matter of a Jedi running loose on Nuxena,” Thrawn finally said, a note of resignation in his voice. Liryn’s face immediately lit up, a wide smile overtaking her features.

“I actually might have a solution to that,” she said, pulling her comm out of her back pocket and scrolling through a piece of text, “Though, I don’t know how much you’re going to like it.”

* * *

 

Ezra glared at Kothe as they showed their cards, the hand soundly trouncing his own. He threw his cards on the pile to be reshuffled with the rest, while Kothe pulled their winnings of two cookies and a wrapped mint towards themselves. 

“How are you so good at this?” Ezra grumbled, gathering up all the cards and beginning to straighten the deck.

“Your sabacc face is  _ awful, _ kid,” Kothe told him, “But it’s not really your fault – all you non-bugs tend to over-emote. I’ve only known a few of you that don’t, so don’t take it too personally.” They gave him an almost-condescending pat on the shoulder, then shoved one of the cookies into their mouth with a pleased noise.

“Okay, that’s it, I’m not playing sabacc with you again. Your lack of facial expressions is cheating,” Ezra declared, eating one of the few cookies he had left. Kothe laughed at him, covering their mouth to avoid spraying crumbs everywhere, and Ezra glanced out the windows that made up the front wall of the cabin with a frown. He wasn’t getting any kind of indication of what might be happening from the force, but Liryn had been gone longer than he’d have liked. His instinct was telling him that he should be moving, finding a way to deal with Thrawn himself, while paradoxically telling him to be patient and trust that Liryn’s plan would work. He was really wishing he’d had some way to conceal his lightsaber and keep it with him right about now. 

“Oh, looks like Liryn’s back,” Kothe suddenly announced, and Ezra’s head whipped back around before he was looking out the windows again, scanning the sky outside. He couldn’t see any sign of the speeder Liryn had left in.

“What? How do you know?” Ezra asked, confused. Kothe pointed at the living room, where Kiran was suddenly sitting upright. The strill’s ears were pricked forward attentively while his tail swept back and forth across the floor behind him. He was looking out the window at the treeline, completely still except for the movement of his tail. A few moments later, Ezra could hear the telltale sound of an airspeeder approaching. The sound grew steadily closer, and a minute later Liryn’s speeder came into view over the tops of the trees. It landed on the road, where it stopped just in front of the cabin. Ezra took the fact that there wasn’t a shuttle full of stormtroopers landing as a good sign, but he still found himself letting out a relieved breath when Liryn climbed out of the speeder, looking none the worse for wear. Then he jumped up in surprise, painfully banging his knees on the underside of the table, when the passenger door opened and Thrawn climbed out.

“Kriff!” Ezra hissed, scrambling to stand properly and nearly falling in the process. Had Thrawn seen him yet? The kitchen was right there, maybe he could jump over the counter and stay out of sight?

“Dude, calm down,” Kothe said, giving him what might have been an exasperated look. “I’m pretty sure he’s already seen you.” Indeed, Thrawn and Liryn were both approaching the front door, there was no way Ezra hadn’t been spotted by both of them. He stood there by the table, watching them climb the front steps to the door, too on edge now to sit back down. In contrast, Kiran was waiting right by the front door, nearly his entire body wiggling as he watched Liryn get closer and closer. He was on her the second she was inside, nosing at her hands and sniffing the parts of her he could reach. Liryn responded to it all with practiced ease, rubbing the strill’s ears and gentle pushing him out of the way. 

With Liryn and Kiran out of the way, Thawn came in right behind them, closing the door once he was inside. His and Ezra’s gazes met from across the room, and Ezra frowned, crossing his arms.

“Commander Bridger,” Thrawn greeted, his eyes narrowed almost imperceptibly and hands linked behind his back.

“Thrawn,” Ezra returned with a suspicious look, glancing at Liryn. She’d gotten Kiran to calm down, and now she turned her attention back to him and Thrawn.

“Alright,  _ so, _ ” she said, lightly clapping her hands together, “I think we’ve reached terms that everyone can agree on.” Liryn glanced back at Thrawn, as if she expected him to protest; he looked back, stoic as Ezra had ever seen him, and raised a brow at her. With no interruption forthcoming, Liryn turned back to Ezra and continued. “Thrawn will stay here on Nuxena, and there won’t be any troopers running around trying to catch you, Ezra.  _ But _ ,” at this she gave him a stern look, “You also have to stay on Nuxena, and you’ll basically be on house arrest.” Liryn paused, her mouth quirking to one side in thought.

“Well, not really house arrest, technically,” she amended, “You can go to town and stuff, but you’ve gotta have someone with you. Like, I have to be able to confirm that you’re still here at any given time. Also, neither of you is allowed to contact the Empire or the rebellion.” 

“Alright,” Ezra said after a moment of thought, “That all sounds fine, but how am I supposed to know that Thrawn isn’t contacting the Empire?”

“The same way he’s going to know you’re still on Nuxena: me.” Liryn propped her hands on her hips and pushed her shoulders back. “By all accounts, I’m a neutral third-party, so I’m going to keep an eye on both of you to make sure you’re holding up your respective ends of the agreement. Is that acceptable?” This entire thing seemed too easy to Ezra; he couldn’t sense any kind of warning in the force, but he also couldn’t figure out how Liryn had gotten Thrawn to agree to this with such apparent ease. 

“Okay, I just have one question,” Erza said, shifting his focus entirely to Thrawn, “Why did you even agree to this in the first place?” Thrawn seemed to have been expecting this line of questioning, and didn’t even bat an eye before replying easily.

“The Empire is hardly so fragile that it will collapse in my absence,” he began, “You on the other hand, are one of the few Jedi left in the galaxy, and the only one at the rebels’ disposal. This is a comparatively simple method of keeping you contained, as opposed to scouring the entire moon to apprehend you.”

“Really?” Ezra smirked, “Because I think the rebellion’s going to do just fine without me.” Whatever Thrawn was going to say to that, if anything, was cut off by Liryn clearing her throat.

“ _ Anyway, _ ” she interjected, looking between them with a mildly annoyed expression, “Are these terms acceptable to both of you? Last chance to argue any changes.” 

“What was it you said, Commander Bridger? ‘ _ Whatever happens now, happens to both of us _ ’?” Thrawn nodded at Liryn. “I find no issue with these terms, Governor.” Ezra frowned at how at ease Thrawn was with all this. He still didn’t like it, but Liryn had taken a huge risk to help him, and this was what he’d wanted.

“Yeah, everything sounds fine to me,” Ezra finally said. A tension he hadn’t even noticed went out of Liryn, and she was noticeably more relaxed as she strode past him toward the kitchen.

“Great!” she said, opening her fridge and looking through it critically. “I hope you guys aren’t expecting anything fancy for dinner, I was  _ not _ expecting to have anyone except Kothe over.”

“Wait,” Ezra said, looking between her and Thrawn, who was casually scratching Kiran behind one ear, “He’s staying  _ here _ ? Doesn’t he have a whole star destroyer to stay on?” Thrawn gave him a supremely unimpressed look without pausing in the attention he was giving the strill. Liryn glanced at him in confusion.

“Yeah,” she agreed, “But I said I was going to keep an eye on  _ both of you _ . I can’t exactly do that if he’s on the  _ Chimaera _ .” Ezra blinked in surprise at that – she wasn’t wrong, technically, and she had indeed said she was going to keep an eye on both him and Thrawn. There must have been something humorous about the look on his face, because Kothe was suddenly cracking up when they glanced at him. 

Waiting for the rebellion to beat the Empire was going to be an experience.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh hey look I’m not dead! This is the first half of what was going to be chapter 2, but between how big it was getting and how long it’s been since I updated, I figured I’d chop it in half and get something out! Hopefully this means I’ll have more up sooner, since it’s partway done

Dinner had been an exceedingly awkward affair, at least for Ezra. Liryn and Kothe did most of the talking, and though they did manage to draw him and Thrawn into conversation a few times, both of them spent most of the meal in silence. It was uncomfortable for Ezra, but as far as he could tell Thrawn was either completely at ease or  _ ridiculously _ good at keeping a politely neutral expression. Which, now that he thought about it, seemed like exactly the kind of thing the perpetually composed Grand Admiral would be good at.

Thankfully the meal turned out to be the best thing Ezra had eaten in months, which wasn’t what he’d expected from the way Liryn had been talking. It had taken effort not to scarf it all down at once, and he ended up going back for seconds, swiftly followed by thirds. Kothe had watched him dig into his third helping with their usual indecipherable expression, and something that felt like horrified fascination in the force.

Once dinner was done Kothe left, practically dragging a sullen Kinky behind them. The droid had grumbled something about ‘not getting to see the drama  _ or _ Forks’ as they left, but she followed Kothe’s lead for the most part, hopping into the speeder when prompted. Kiran perked up where he was lounging in the living room when Liryn took a deep breath, his tail gently thumping against the window seat he was sprawled on. Liryn turned to face Thrawn and Ezra from where she’d been standing by the front door to see off Kothe and Kinky.

“Alright,” she started, pointing at Ezra, “You, come with me. I’m gonna show you where you’re sleeping, and where the ‘fresher is and everything.” Ezra stood from the table, following Liryn to the steep set of stairs in the living room.

“What about him?” he asked, glancing back at Thrawn as Liryn began climbing the stairs. The man was still seated at the table, giving Ezra a flat look over the mug of hot chocolate Liryn had provided them all with.

“He’s been here before, he already knows where everything is,” she told him, waving a dismissive hand over her shoulder. Ezra shot Thrawn one last look before following Liryn upstairs. When he made it up, she was unfolding a couch there into a bed, settling it into place just as he got there. “Okay, so here’s the ‘fresher.” Liryn walked to a door on the other side of the loft and went in, clearly expecting him to follow. Ezra did, and found a small ‘fresher which only felt a little cramped, which was quite the feat considering how dramatically the roof sloped up here. Liryn was busy rummaging through a cabinet next to the sink; she pulled out a few blankets and a pillow, turning around and shoving them into Ezra’s arms.

“The bed already has sheets, and I keep the house pretty warm so this should be enough blankets,” she said. Her approach forced him to back up or risk being bowled over, and she gave him an assessing look once they were out of the ‘fresher, a hand on her chin in thought. “I’m pretty sure I have something that’ll fit you until we can get you some more clothes in town.” Before Ezra could say anything to that, she was past him and going back down the stairs. He looked between the blankets and pillow in his arms and the small balcony a few times, then dropped them on the bed so he could follow Liryn.

He reached the top of the stairs just as he heard the sound of a door opening, followed by the squawk of a frantic droid. Ezra leaned over the railing to look towards the source of the sound, and was just in time to see Thrawn pick up his mug and lean back in his seat. The reason for this became clear when, a split-second later, a white and green astromech slammed into the table. It was a miracle the table and droid both emerged from the collision intact, the astromech backing up and swiveling it’s dome a few times before letting out a low, warbling beep.

“Forks!” Liryn scolded while still out of sight, making the droid jolt and look back in the direction of the kitchen. “You better not have broken something!” The droid, evidently Forks, examined the table briefly before warbling a negative. Liryn sighed loudly, finally coming back into view with a bundle of clothes in hand. 

“Are you finally going to calm down now?” she asked Forks, and it let out a very quiet affirmative whoop. Liryn eyed it for a second, as if she didn’t quite believe that, then shook her head, turning her attention to Ezra. “Here, these are for you.” She walked over until she was right below him and just tossed the bundle up, Ezra only managing to catch it out of reflex. The clothes consisted of a few t-shirts and a couple pairs of loose drawstring pants, which all looked like they might be a little big on him, but would probably be bearable. 

“Thanks,” he said, and glanced at Thrawn again. Forks had navigated around the table to rapidly beep a long string of binary at him, and he had the long suffering look of someone who was used to this kind of behavior from the droid. Some otherwise imperceptible part of of his expression closed off when he looked up and met Ezra’s gaze, raising a single eyebrow at him while taking another sip from his mug. Liryn caught this exchange and narrowed her eyes at them both.

“You’re welcome,” she replied, “Now, I suggest getting changed and going to bed, because that’s what I’m doing.” She gave him and Thrawn both a stern look before walking into the kitchen and out of sight again. Ezra wanted to argue, but it had been a physically and emotionally draining  _ week _ , much less day, and he could feel himself almost beginning to sway on his feet. Thrawn had stood as Liryn finished speaking, rounding the table to follow her. Ezra waited until he could hear the muffled sound of Thrawn’s voice, followed quickly by Liryn’s. Though he couldn’t make out what was being said, it was reassuring on some level to know Thrawn was staying put, even if he was out of Ezra’s direct line of sight. 

He watched Forks wheel over to a charging port beneath the stairs and plug in, shaking his head and blinking rapidly to wake himself up from the doze he’d almost fallen into. Sleep really did sound amazing right now, so he got changed in the bathroom and spread the blankets over the fold-out bed. It certainly wouldn’t be the worst place he’d ever slept, and Ezra was barely awake long enough for his head to hit the pillow, much less criticize his sleeping arrangements.

* * *

 

Thrawn set his empty mug in the kitchen sink to be dealt with later, then followed Liryn into her bedroom. Kiran rushed in past him when he turned to close the door and Thrawn narrowly avoided catching the strill’s tail. Kiran made a quick stop by Liryn – who was currently digging through her dresser in search of something – to nose at her elbow, and upon receiving a perfunctory pat on the head and a murmured acknowledgement he bounced up onto the bed. He flopped himself onto the side closest to the door, wiggling around until he was stretched on his back along the full length of the mattress.

Now that Kiran was settled, Thrawn turned his attention back to Liryn, who had found what she was looking for and straightened up again. She turned around, holding some folded clothes that she then laid at the foot of the bed.

“I ended up bringing all the stuff you left at the guest cabin up here,” she told him, “So you’ve got stuff to wear besides the pajamas, we just need to get it out of the basement. I hope you don’t mind that I moved it.” Liryn didn’t seem especially concerned that he might be upset, instead she looked significantly more tired than she had just five minutes ago, when she’d been directing Bridger around.

“That’s fine,” Thrawn assured her, stepping forward to retrieve the folded clothes on the bed that he assumed we meant for him. Liryn just hummed in response, busy pulling off her pants in favor of a looser pair of pajama bottoms. He waited until she was done and had turned to face him before he spoke again. “So where am I sleeping?” Liryn fixed him with a confused frown.

“In here, with me? What, did you think I was gonna make you sleep on the couch?” she said archly, giving him a look that said she thought the answer had been obvious. 

“Are you certain that is wise?” Thrawn asked, which elicited a more genuinely confused expression.

“What do you mean?” Liryn had come to stand in front of him, leaning part of her weight against the bed. She crossed her arms and tilted her head expectantly, watching him as she waited for an answer.

“If Ezra Bridger were to discover that you aren’t actually a ‘ _ neutral third party _ ’, as you put it, he may become decidedly less cooperative.” Thrawn watched her frown as she considered this, shifting her weight to her other leg and back as she thought. 

“He’d probably be less cooperative,” Liryn conceded after a few moments, “And he wouldn’t trust me as much as he does right now, but he’d still keep the agreement. He was willing to possibly die just to keep you from helping the Empire, he isn’t going to give up the opportunity to keep you here without a fight.” Now it was Thrawn’s turn to consider Liryn’s analysis of the situation. It matched up fairly well with the information he’d put together about Bridger, and he was impressed that she’d gotten such an accurate read on the Jedi after only spending what wasn’t even a full afternoon with him.

“Plus,” Liryn added before Thrawn could reply, “I know you’re not much for PDA, but he’s going to find out eventually. And I’m not going to tiptoe around my own house for the next who knows how long just because Teenage Rebellion up there might think two adults kissing is icky.” She said this last part with such dry sarcasm that Thrawn couldn’t suppress a soft snort of laughter. Liryn broke into a sharply pleased grin at the sound, shifting her weight again so she could take a step towards him.

“Not to mention I’d much rather have you in here with me,” she continued, gently winding her arms around his waist. “But I’m not gonna stop you, if you’re dead-set on it. So did you  _ want _ to sleep on the couch?” 

Thrawn most certainly  _ didn’t  _ want to sleep on the couch. None of Liryn’s furniture was what he would call uncomfortable, but his bruised ribs twinged at just the thought of spending the night on anything less than a real bed. The knowledge of exactly how much more comfortable Liryn’s bed was didn’t help either, and that wasn’t even considering how much more appealing Liryn’s presence made the idea. It had been easy enough when he was gone, to focus on his work and tune out any kind of Liryn-related thoughts. Now that he was here with her, and without the worry of trying to catch a stray Jedi who was a impossible nuisance at the best of times, Thrawn realized just how much he’d missed her. He rested his free hand on her lower back, returning the careful squeeze she gave him.

“No,” Thrawn finally answered, “I don’t want to sleep on the couch.” A bit of the exhaustion he was fighting leaked into his voice, and Liryn’s expression softened.

“Alright, good,” she said, unwrapping her arms from around him and pulling away. “Now get changed, I really  _ am _ tired.” Liryn began pulling back the covers and nudging Kiran until he wasn’t taking up an entire half of the bed. Thrawn did as she asked, changing out of his uniform and into the sleep clothes she’d pulled out for him – or at least, he  _ started _ changing. He got at far as removing his tunic, and was in the process of pulling off his undershirt when a startled gasp from Liryn made him pause. She was staring at his torso with wide eyes, her face a little whiter than it had been at the sight of his bruises.

“That doesn’t look like it’s ‘ _ hardly serious _ ’,” Liryn said in a strangled voice, before it evened out some. “That looks  _ very _ serious. What happened?” Thrawn looked down, examining the damage for the first time himself. There were thick, purple-black bands running unevenly up and down the front and back of his torso, with matching ones along the outside of his arms. He supposed it did look serious to a her, the colors of even a milder bruise on his skin mimicking those of deeper, more severe ones on humans, especially those as pale as Liryn. While it was certainly uncomfortable, the damage truly was on the minor side of things, and he knew his bones and organs had escaped unscathed.

“You saw the windows on the  _ Chimaera’s _ bridge?” Thrawn waited until Liryn nodded before continuing. “The purrgil are, as I’m sure you’ve realized by now, responsible for that. They also saw fit to restrain me, presumably to stop me from apprehending Bridger.” While she still seemed concerned, Liryn at least looked slightly calmer for knowing the basics of what had happened. “I understand it looks bad, but it’s only skin deep, I assure you.” She looked like she wanted to argue, but the moment passed and she only let out a tired sigh.

“Alright,” Liryn said, “Just tell me if it starts to feel worse?”

“Of course,” Thrawn told her, putting as much sincerity into the words as he could. Liryn nodded, almost as if to herself, and climbed into bed, settling in the middle while Thrawn finished changing. He turned off the overhead light, then laid down in the open spot next to her, sinking into the pillow and mattress with a content sigh. When he opened his eyes again, Liryn was watching him through the dim light coming in from under the door. 

“Why is it that every time you show up here, you’re hurt?” she wondered aloud. 

“Twice is hardly a pattern,” Thrawn countered, watching her scoot down until she was on her side facing him. Her movements were slow, her night vision not quite as good as his own and making her more cautious of bumping either him or Kiran.

“Maybe, but it’s still a hundred percent of the time so far, and I’m not sure I like that kind of precedent being set,” Liryn said, stifling a yawn partway through, “What are you, some kind of danger magnet?” Despite how tired she clearly was, Liryn grinned at her own joke, shuffling closer so she could gingerly lay her head on his shoulder.

“It certainly seems that way,” Thrawn said, laying one hand across his stomach and curling the other around Liryn. He felt Kiran squirm until he was pressed along Liryn’s back, and subsequently Thrawn’s arm as well. Liryn didn’t protest being sandwiched between them, just closed her eyes and nuzzled closer when he rolled onto his side to get more comfortable.

“Hmmm,” was her only reply, and Thrawn could tell she was close to falling asleep.

“Goodnight,” Thrawn said quietly, not really expecting a response as he buried his face in her hair.

“G’night,” Liryn mumbled. Behind her, Kiran let out a whooshing sigh, leaning more heavily against them. Liryn’s breathing quickly evened out into sleep, and Thrawn wasn’t far behind.

* * *

 

When Ezra awoke, it was to the soft glow of indirect sunlight, filtering in through the wall of windows at the front of the house. It looked to be mid-morning, as best he could tell with no chrono. He  _ could _ get up and dig his comm out of his pile of clothes, but that would require moving, something that every muscle in his body actively protested. Now that he’d actually had the chance to really  _ rest _ , instead of only stopping long enough to meet the bare minimum of his body’s needs, he was paying the price for it. Not to mention that the bed was very comfortable, considering it was usually a couch. 

Ezra buried his face into the pillow and took a deep breath, then forced himself to sit up. His stomach chose that moment to inform him of just how hungry he was, offering more than sufficient motivation for him to get fully out of bed. It also wouldn’t hurt to check in on Thrawn, in case he’d only been waiting for Ezra to fall asleep before doing – well, he couldn’t really think of anything right now, through the stubbornly clinging fog of sleep, but it certainly wouldn’t be anything good.

Ezra stopped at the top of the stairs, finding the living room empty. Forks was still docked at the charging port, but there was no sign of Liryn, Thrawn, or Kiran. He carefully made his way down the stairs, still not entirely awake. The lights on Forks’ dome stayed dim as he walked past it to look into the kitchen for some sign of life. He wasn’t really expecting to find anyone there, since he was pretty sure he would have heard them, and indeed the kitchen was empty too. With a frown, Ezra glanced out the front windows; the speeder Liryn and Thrawn had come back in was still right where she’d parked it, and he knew he would have woken up at the sound of a ship. That is, if the ship had landed right by the cabin.

He shook his head and turned back to the kitchen. If either Liryn or Thrawn were gone, there wasn’t anything he could do about it now – but if they weren’t, then there was no reason for him to panic. Ezra had seen them both go this direction last night, so that was probably where the bedrooms were. Walking further into the kitchen revealed a very short hallway to his left, two doors side by side at the end of it with a third on the wall directly right of them. The left one was slightly ajar, so Ezra crept forward to peek in, squinting in an attempt to see more clearly into the darkness.

Closer inspection revealed it to be a bathroom, which left the other two as the obvious candidates for Liryn’s room and a guest room, where Thrawn should be. Ezra eyed the two doors, his gaze sliding between them as he tried to decide which one to try first. He  eventually settled for the right door over the middle one, stepping forward and turning the knob as quietly as he could. Ezra was immensely grateful for the fact Liryn apparently kept her doors well-oiled, because the door swung open almost soundlessly. However, instead of the room he’d been expecting, there was a set of stairs descending into a yawning darkness.

Ezra quickly closed the door, suppressing an instinctive shiver at the illusion of a bottomless pit created by the lack of light. If there was a room down there, it could wait forever as far as he was concerned. He instead turned to the third and final door, repeating the process to open it just as soundlessly as the last. It was a small relief to find the room lit by sunlight filtered through a set of closed blinds, an irrational part of his brain having expected a matching set of stairs in a dark void.

On another positive note he’d found Thrawn, and Kiran too. The man was still asleep, laying on his side facing the door. It was odd seeing him without his usual carefully composed expression, and to Ezra he looked like a completely different person without it. Kiran was stretched out on the side of the bed closest to the door, partially blocking Thrawn from view with his body. The strill hadn’t even stirred at the small sound of the opening door, and thankfully neither had Thrawn. The only question now was where Liryn was.

Ezra was already dreading his now-inevitable trip down those stairs, and was in the process of closing the door when Kiran shifted in his sleep, the movement naturally drawing Ezra’s eye. The strill, who had been laying with his back to the door, rolled in his sleep until he was on his back, and Ezra stopped in his tracks. His brain tripped over itself, trying to reconcile the image of Liryn curled up against Thrawn with what he thought he’d known about both of them. Kiran must have been practically on top of her for Ezra to have missed her before. Logic told him to retreat and evaluate this new information, but his body refused to move. The force was just as helpful as it had been since he’d gotten here, which was to say not at all. 

There was a beam of light that had made its way past the bedroom’s curtains, and the angle finally shifted enough to land on Liryn’s face. After a few moments she made an aggravated noise, rolling onto her back in a fruitless attempt to escape the light assaulting her eyelids. The sound was enough to jolt Ezra into action, and he flailed in an attempt to back out of the doorway and close the door all at the same time. It was far from graceful, and even further from being successful. The movement only resulted in him somehow completely losing his balance, landing painfully on his tailbone right there in the doorway. 

Ezra bit back a yelp at the sudden, unexpected jolt of pain. It was more surprising than actually painful, and compared to the near full body ache he was currently experiencing it was almost nothing. Evidently he hadn’t been as quiet as he’d thought; a few moments after he’d fallen, a confused and bleary eyed Liryn sat up, sluggishly scanning the room until she found him. She was still waking up by the looks of it, raking a hand through her hair to pull it out of her face. Ezra could only sit there, instinctively freezing as if that would retroactively keep Liryn from spotting him. It didn’t work, of course, and she only raised a brow at him as the sleep finished clearing from her expression.

“You okay?” Liryn asked evenly, her voice soft with the remains of sleep. Ezra nodded mutely, his body unfreezing at last. He pulled himself up using the doorframe, unsure as to whether he should leave now or wait for Liryn to say something. A surreptitious glance past her told Ezra that Thrawn was still asleep, but Liryn easily caught how his gaze darted there and back. 

“Did you need something?” The was the barest hint of steel beneath her question this time, and Ezra subconsciously straightened up when he heard it.

“I –,” Ezra began, then before he could continue, he was cut off by a loud growl from his stomach. He felt his face flush at the sound, but forced himself to keep going anyway. “I didn’t want to just start digging through your kitchen.” Liryn just blinked at him for a few moments, then glanced at Thrawn. Ezra thanked the force that he was still sound asleep, this was awkward enough as it was.

“Alright,” Liryn mumbled, scratching at one cheek. Then she was pulling her legs out from under the covers and climbing over Kiran so she could get up. The strill had woken up during the process and was fully alert by the time she was standing, rolling off the bed to follow her. Ezra backed up out of the doorway as they approached, and Liryn closed the door behind her once Kiran was out.

“So,” Ezra said, drawing the word out while Liryn opened the fridge and began pulling things out, setting them on the counter. Kiran was sitting patiently at the end of the counter, watching her in anticipation.

“So?” she prompted when he didn’t continue, glancing at him with raised eyebrows. She paused after pulling down a mixing bowl from a cabinet, setting it on the counter so she could cross her arms and give him a look. Ezra still wasn’t entirely sure what he wanted to ask. 

Had this all been an elaborate plan on Thrawn’s part? No, he’d been too genuinely surprised back on the  _ Chimaera _ , and even Ezra hadn’t known they would end up here. He didn’t think Liryn had been lying about helping him, he was sure he would have felt that in the force. So was this…  _ thing _ that was apparently going on with her and Thrawn new, and thus something he couldn’t have felt her lying about at the time, or was she just an incredibly good liar? Then again, it’s not like he’d ever have thought to ask that kind of question in the first place, so she wouldn’t have technically had to lie at all – Ezra cut that train of thought off, it wouldn’t lead him anywhere helpful.

“Did you actually mean it? When you said you’d make sure  _ both _ of us followed the agreement?” he finally asked, his face as neutral as he could make it. His voice came out a lot calmer than he’d expected it to, and he hoped that his surprise at that didn’t show on his face.

“Yes,” Liryn replied bluntly, quick enough for Ezra to frown a little.

“Really?” Ezra said, “Because from where I’m standing, it seems like you might conveniently overlook Thrawn breaking his side of it.” Liryn’s demeanor abruptly shifted from dead serious to her letting out a sharp bark of laughter. She was sporting an amused grin as she turned back to the counter and began measuring out what looked like flour into the mixing bowl.

“Wow, I get that you don’t know me that well, but you really don’t know  _ anything _ about Thrawn, do you?” Liryn suppressed another laugh when she spared Ezra a glance, settling for a quiet snicker. He crossed his arms and frowned at her, straightening his back.

“I know enough,” he insisted, his frown deepening when Liryn shook her head.

“Not when it comes to what he’s actually like. You’ve only ever known him as someone on the other side of a war, not as an actual person,” she countered, and fixed him with a piercing look that made his mouth snap shut before he could interrupt her. “Thrawn wouldn’t outright break an agreement or contract. Find and exploit a loophole or technicality? Sure. Outright break it? No.” She shook her head again as she said this, cracking a pair of eggs into the bowl. 

“How am I supposed to actually trust anything you say?” Ezra sighed. His shoulders slumped, and he leaned against the wall next to Kiran. Liryn just shrugged.

“How did you trust me in the first place? Or Kothe? Or what Thrawn told you yesterday, when you asked him why he was agreeing to all this?” Liryn questioned, stirring the contents of the bowl with a mixing spoon. Ezra went quiet as he thought, though Liryn didn’t seem to be expecting an actual reply from him. 

Why  _ had _ he trusted Kothe and Liryn so quickly, especially once he’d realized Liryn was the same Governor Morastus that had called Thrawn on the  _ Chimaera’s _ bridge? The answer he wanted to give was that he’d been tired and desperate, clinging to any help presented to him in an unfamiliar place, lightyears away from anyone he knew and trusted. That was true, to a degree, but he couldn’t ignore the subtle nudging of the force too, telling him that these people could be trusted, could be counted on. He’d had trouble in the past blindly following what the force told him, and it wasn’t any easier to do it right now. Meanwhile the instincts he’d developed when he’d had to fend for himself on Lothal told him not to trust anyone, that he could only really count on himself. Ezra had thought he’d worked past this, untrained that response during the years spent with his new family, but he evidently hadn’t.

Liryn had finished her mixing, and the sound the bowl made when she set it next to the stove jolted Ezra from his thoughts. She pulled a frying pan out of a cabinet, turning to look at him with one hand propped on her hip.

“Now,” she said breezily, “Are you going to help me make pancakes or not?”

* * *

 

When Thrawn woke up, it was gradual and peaceful. It wasn’t often that he had the opportunity to sleep in, and allowing himself to wake naturally instead of immediately forcing his mind into awareness was a welcome luxury. He rolled onto his back, stretching until he felt a satisfying pop from a few joints, and opened his eyes. He blinked at Liryn’s ceiling for a few moments, then looked beside him. The bed was empty except for him, both Liryn and Kiran nowhere to be seen. He could hear someone moving around in the kitchen, so he pushed himself up and out of bed. 

He ran a hand through his hair to straighten it some, briefly considering changing clothes before dismissing the idea. Liryn had said his things from the guest cabin were in the basement, and his uniform needed to be washed. Not to mention he hadn’t bothered to properly fold it, so it was most likely incredibly wrinkled. He settled for running a smoothing hand over his hair one more time, and making the loose sleeping shirt as presentable as he could. The fabric didn’t seem inclined to hold any wrinkles, but it was still clearly a sleeping shirt. There wasn’t anything he could do to change that though, so he let the pleasant smell of something cooking lead him out of the bedroom. 

The moment the door opened Kiran was at his side, nosing at Thrawn’s hand until he gave the strill his full attention. Thrawn ran a palm over the top of Kiran’s head, briefly flattening his ears against his skull before they perked forward again; Thrawn gave him one more pat, then turned his focus to the kitchen itself. Kiran was only a little disappointed, and trotted past him into the bedroom, leaping onto the bed with a soft ‘ _ thump _ ’. Liryn and Ezra were both in the kitchen, clustered around the stove. 

“Okay,” Liryn was telling Ezra, “See how the edges aren’t shiny anymore?  _ Now _ you can flip it.” She was standing on the far side of Ezra from Thrawn, and looked up when she heard the sound Kiran had made jumping onto the bed. “Oh hey, you’re up.” Ezra’s head shot up when she said this, looking at Liryn first before whipping around to look at Thrawn. He’d been relaxed and focused just a moment ago, but now that he knew Thrawn was awake there was a kind of nervous tension to him. His shoulders had raised slightly, and he seemed unsure in a way he hadn’t been yesterday. 

“Yes,” Thrawn answered simply, narrowing his eyes and mildly frowning as he examined Ezra, trying to figure out what had changed quite literally overnight. 

“Ezra, flip the pancake before it burns,” Liryn reminded him. Ezra jolted and shoved the spatula he was holding into the frying pan at the reminder, nearly flinging the half-cooked pancake onto the counter with the amount of force he used to flip it. He managed to move the pan and catch it, but it landed hard enough to send bits of batter splattering onto him, Liryn, the stove top, and the counter space on either side of it.

“Uh, sorry,” Ezra mumbled to Liryn, looking down at the tiny flecks that had landed everywhere. She shrugged, pulling a plate that already had one pancake on it closer.

“It’s fine. Just maybe don’t be so aggressive next time?” Liryn had grabbed a dish towel, and was wiping off her shirt with it while Ezra nodded sheepishly. “I think it’s ready now,” she said after eyeing the pancake for a moment. She wiped down the counter while he transferred the pancake to the plate, then glanced at Thrawn where he was still standing and watching Ezra. “Think you can handle the rest of the pancakes, Ezra?” 

“Yeah, I guess. Why?” he asked, giving Liryn a cautious look, and seemed surprised when she clapped him on the shoulder.

“Because you’re on pancake duty so I can make us something to drink,” Liryn replied. She was already turning on her electric kettle and pulling down three mugs. “Tea or caf, Ezra?” He looked up from where he’d begun carefully pouring more batter into the pan.

“What? Oh, caf I guess?” He sounded distracted, seemingly caught between eyeing Thrawn and watching what he was cooking, though he settled on the latter quickly enough. Liryn nodded, turning her attention to Thrawn now.

“Thrawn?” Liryn asked, paused partway through removing a tea bag from its box. 

“Caf, thank you,” Thrawn said, and she ripped open the tea bag packaging, putting it in one of the mugs and wrapping the string around its handle.

“Alright, then could you come get down the caf press for me? I almost never make any, so it’s on the top shelf.” Thrawn knew that Liryn didn’t really need his help to get things from high places, least of all in her own kitchen. He’d once seen her climb something close to fifteen feet up a tree to free Kiran after he’d gotten a claw stuck racing after a squirrel. It had been nerve wracking to watch, seeing how little fear she seemed to have of falling. Nevertheless, Thrawn stepped up next to her and retrieved the press, placing it on the counter next to the mugs. 

“Thanks,” Liryn told him, briefly pressing herself against his side while taking care not to press too hard on his bruises, and grabbed a bag of ground caf from the cabinet. She measured a few spoonfuls into the press and sealed the bag again before putting it back, leaning on the counter while she waited for the water to boil. The entire situation felt a bit surreal to Thrawn; his subconscious recognized Liryn’s cabin and her presence as indicators that he could relax, while simultaneously keeping him aware of Ezra – who was still at the stove not four feet away – and telling him that he couldn't. In fact, the Jedi was distracted from his task again, trying to surreptitiously watch Thrawn and Liryn from over his shoulder. Thrawn reigned in his annoyance and suppressed an aggravated sigh, turning to stare him down with a carefully neutral expression.

“Is there something I can help you with, Commander Bridger?” Thrawn asked in the polite, restrained tone he’d cultivated for when he had to ‘play nice’ with Imperial High Command. Ezra had evidently found his footing now, because he didn’t startle and try to pretend he hadn’t been looking. Instead, he opened his mouth like he was going to say something, then closed it almost immediately, tilting his head and eyeing Thrawn for another few moments before actually speaking.

“You just still seem weirdly calm about all this,” Ezra said. 

“I see no reason to be concerned. Are you trying to imply I should be?” Thrawn asked, dropping his polite tone in favor of something more deadpan, and it managed to draw an amused snort out of Liryn. She’d been feigning distraction, looking at something on her comm, but now she completely abandoned the pretext. Ezra frowned, but he didn’t insist his point. Thrawn could tell he’d been probing for some kind of specific reaction and hadn’t gotten the one he’d wanted.

“No,” Ezra answered, “Not unless you’re planning on breaking the agreement.” He shot Liryn a brief glance at that. When Thrawn looked, she was rolling her eyes with an annoyed expression. He had the distinct feeling he’d missed something, but the conversation moved on before he could say anything about it.

“Can you please just focus on not burning the pancakes, Ezra? Or do I need to take over?” Liryn had set her comm on the counter as she asked this, taking half a step towards Ezra and the stove. Ezra’s posture turned defensive at the motion, holding his spatula aloft as if it would keep Liryn at bay.

“No, I can do it!” he insisted, flipping the pancake currently in the pan. It hadn’t burned yet, but the darker color told Thrawn it was a near thing. Liryn eyed the batter left in the bowl, then the dark side of the currently cooking pancake, before settling her gaze back on Ezra.

“Alright,” she said, “But seriously, please don’t burn the pancakes. Nobody likes burnt pancake.” The kettle beeped behind her to signal it had reached its preset temperature, and Liryn turned to pour it into both her mug and the press. Ezra huffed, using the spatula to poke at the pancake. He then promptly levered it onto the plate before pouring more batter into the pan. 

“Could you feed Kiran?” Liryn directed at Thrawn and he nodded. He crossed the kitchen and opened the fridge, grabbing one of the containers of unidentifiable meat mixture that made up the strill’s meals, finding it in exactly where it had been the last time he was here. Liryn had already grabbed a bowl for him when he turned back, and Ezra watched him dump it into the bowl with a disgusted expression.

“What  _ is _ that?” Ezra asked, eyeing the bowl where Thrawn had set it on the floor, just past the end of the counter. At the sound of the ceramic hitting the wood floor there was a frantic rustling from Liryn’s room, and Kiran came sliding out a second later. He would have slid right past the bowl if he hadn’t run into Thrawn’s legs, and didn’t even spare the man a glance before shoving his face in to start eating. Thrawn left him to it, leaning on this section of counter instead of returning to Liryn’s side, facing the rest of the kitchen again.

“Bantha, raw eggs, fish, some vitamin supplements,” Liryn listed off on her fingers, “I also switch out the bantha for elk or something else, depending on what’s in season and what Ellriss has in stock.” Ezra’s expression morphed to confusion, so she clarified, “Ellriss is Nuxena’s butcher. You’ll probably get to meet him when we go into town today to get some stuff.”

“Okay,” Ezra said, watching Kiran push the bowl around in his attempts to reach the bits of food in the very bottom. Once he was satisfied it was completely empty, Kiran looked up pleadingly, first at Liryn, then at Thrawn when she ignored him. Thrawn offered his empty palm out of habit, letting out an amused huff at the betrayed look Kiran gave him once he’d determined Thrawn  _ wasn’t  _ giving him more food. In spite of it, Kiran sat down next to him, leaning nearly all his weight against Thrawn’s leg. When he looked back up, Ezra’s head whipped away, as if he really thought Thrawn couldn’t figure out exactly what he’d been doing. 

Ezra was eyeing the last of the pancake batter as it cooked when the timer on Liryn’s comm beeped a few minutes later. The sound was sudden enough to make him jerk a little in surprise, and Thrawn saw him nearly ruin the pancake because of it. The pancake managed to make it out unscathed however, and he transferred it to the pile as Liryn poured the caf. 

“Well the pancakes are done,” Ezra announced, turning off the burner and setting the spatula on the counter. 

“The caf’s ready too,” Liryn said, stirring some sugar into her tea, “Guess it’s time to eat!” 

Breakfast passed quickly, Ezra once again scarfing down his share at an almost alarming rate and going back for seconds. Liryn’s pancakes were just as good as they’d been the last time Thrawn had them, if a bit crispy here and there from Ezra’s involvement. As soon as she was done, Liryn disappeared into the basement, reappearing a few minutes later with a cardboard box big enough that she had trouble seeing around it. 

“Okay,” she said over her shoulder as she carried it into her room, “Everybody get dressed so we can go.” Thrawn drank the last of his caf and stood to take his mug and plate into the kitchen, but Ezra stayed seated and at a loss until Liryn poked her head back out to frown at him. “What is it, Ezra?”

“I don’t really have anything to change into,” he said, looking down at the loose clothes he’d slept in.

“Yes, I know, that’s part of why we’re going into town,” Liryn replied evenly, “Just put on what you were wearing yesterday, it won’t be for long.” Ezra made a face at that, but got up and started toward the stairs. “Ah-buh-bup!” Liryn waved an arm at him and pointed. “Plate!” Ezra paused mid-step, looking confused for a second before he looked back at the table where she was pointing.

“What? Oh,” he said, sounding sheepish, backtracking to grab his plate and take it into the kitchen. He pointedly didn’t meet Thrawn’s eyes when they passed each other, instead staring resolutely ahead, then down at his plate as he rinsed it. Thrawn narrowed his eyes at Ezra’s back for a split second, still wondering just what exactly was going on with him, before following Liryn into her bedroom. She’d set the box on the bed and was digging through it, pulling out folded clothes to get a better look at them until she decided they didn’t meet the criteria of whatever she was looking for and set them aside. She briefly looked up when he closed the door behind him, pausing her search to prop a hand on her hip with a slight frown.

“Most of your stuff is gonna be a bit warm for summer,” Liryn said, “But it should be fine for today at least.” Thrawn walked over to peek into the box himself; Liryn was right, nearly everything he’d left on Nuxena had been the heavy winter clothes he bought after first arriving. He knew summers on the moon weren’t exactly sweltering, but with how much he’d had to bundle up in winter it would be very uncomfortable wearing the same clothes in the summer. By now, Liryn had pulled out all of the few lightweight clothes there were, setting them into a new pile on the bed for him. “Well, I think that’s everything you won’t be burning up in the second you step outside.”

Thrawn carefully watched Liryn as she turned to go through her closet, pulling out a set of clothes for herself. He caught her with a hand on the shoulder when she passed him, gently pulling her to a stop while turning her to face him. She blinked at him, clearly a bit surprised, but went along with the movement.

“Are you alright?” Thrawn asked once he had her full attention.

“What? Yeah, of course I’m –,” Liryn started, then cut herself off when Thrawn raised a disbelieving brow. “Okay, I guess I’m a bit stressed,” she conceded, taking a deep breath and letting it out in a low sigh, “There’s a bunch of stuff happening all at once, and it’s a little overwhelming. Like what are we going to do about the  _ Chimera _ and the other destroyers, and all the crew members? It’s not like we can just leave them up there, shipping freighters are definitely going to notice a bunch of star destroyers hanging around.” Before she could get any further, Thrawn tugged her into a hug, wincing a little when Liryn immediately latched on with arms around his waist.

“I will handle all of that,” he said, rubbing a comforting hand up and down her back, “Just focus on what needs to be done today.” Liryn nodded where her face was pressed against his chest, her arms tightening briefly before she let go. 

“Yeah, okay,” she said, “Now, let’s get dressed before Ezra starts wondering where we are.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> finally managed to sit down and finish this chapter, hope you all enjoy it despite the fact it doesn't really feel to me like much happens in it OTL

Ezra was standing in the living room when Thrawn and Liryn came out, his expression vaguely uncomfortable as he shifted from foot to foot. Most likely it was from being back in yesterday’s clothes, which were doubtlessly still sweaty and grimy, seeing as they hadn’t been washed yet. Thrawn didn’t envy his situation, glad that even though he did still need a shower himself, he’d at least had something fresh to change into. All three of them, plus Kiran, piled into Liryn’s speeder, leaving a very displeased Forks behind. The droid warbled and grumbled under its nonexistent breath to itself in binary, but obediently rolled back inside when it became clear Liryn wasn’t going to budge on the matter. 

Droid dealt with and Kiran secure in the back seat with Ezra, the drive into town started. Ezra was occupied the entire time, alternating between watching the scenery passing by outside his window and keeping Kiran from climbing all over him or shoving his nose into Ezra’s face. Thrawn couldn’t help regularly glancing into the rearview mirror to keep an eye on him. He didn’t exactly have the best view, given that the mirror was adjusted for Liryn and not him, but it was enough that he didn’t have to turn around and and make it glaringly obvious that he was looking. 

Liryn had turned on the speeder’s built-in radio, lowering the volume so it was closer to background noise than anything else, and some distantly familiar song played. The station it was tuned to was one of the pre-recorded kind that piggy-backed off holonet signals, then broadcasted from the public comms terminal in town a day or so after it had originally aired. Ezra sighed eventually and stopped trying to keep Kiran off his lap, bu he perked up once they reached Nuxena proper, pushing the strill away so he could lean forward and get a better look out the front windshield. He of course didn’t notice when Liryn drove past the general store, where Thrawn had been expecting her to park, but he did see Thrawn turn and give her a questioning look.

“I assume there is some errand you’ve neglected to mention?” Thrawn asked, making Ezra blink and shift his focus to Liryn as well, curious himself now.

“Well, Ezra kind of jumped off a star destroyer yesterday,” she said, “So along with everything else he told me, I figured we should probably make sure he doesn’t have some kind of life-threatening internal injury, since he didn’t get any treatment on the  _ Chimaera  _ for obvious reasons.”

“Oh – thanks, but I’m fine, really,” Ezra said, settling back into his seat and sounding a bit sheepish. Liryn parked the speeder in front of the clinic, turning in her seat to fix him with a skeptical raised brow now that they were stationary.

“This isn’t up for debate, Ezra,” she told him with an air of finality, climbing out of the speeder before he could protest further. Thrawn watched him for a moment before he climbed out too, Kiran worming his way into the front seat and nearly falling out after him. That finally spurred Ezra into motion, and he hurried out of the speeder to follow them. Liryn was already at the entrance, holding the door open and watching them both impatiently. Kiran zipped ahead of Thrawn to reach her, crowding into her space until she nudged him away, then trotted into the building and out of sight. Ezra caught up just as Thrawn got to Liryn, and she ushered them both inside.

The inside of the clinic was exactly the same as it had been the last time he was here, with Chron sitting behind the reception desk reading a datapad. He hadn’t spared them a glance when they’d come in, only looking up when they got within a few feet of the desk. He gave Liryn a friendly smile, extending it to Thrawn before his expression shifted to curiosity when he got to Ezra. 

“Hey Chron,” Liryn said to him, folding her arms and leaning on the desk, “This is Ezra, I need you to make sure he isn’t dying.” Ezra gave her an odd look but Chron didn’t bat an eye, just nodded and switched his datapad for one laying on the desk before standing up.

“Alright Ezra, just follow me,” Chron said with a reassuring smile, waiting in the doorway that lead further into the clinic. Ezra hesitated for a split second, shooting a quick look at Liryn, before walking forward. Once Ezra had walked past him, Chron glanced at Liryn and Thrawn, already half-turned to walk away. “Dr. Madowki is in her office if you needed to talk to her,” he offered helpfully.

“Thanks Chron,” Liryn replied with a nod, starting toward the only other interior door in the room as he disappeared into the back. She was at the door before she realized Thrawn wasn’t following her, and Liryn stopped to turn and give him an expectant look. “Come on, we’ve still got stuff to do after this, and he shouldn’t take very long with Ezra,” she said, opening the door and waiting for him to catch up. He covered the same distance in roughly half the steps it had taken Liryn, and they walked down the hallway on the other side of the door side by side. Thrawn hadn’t seen this part of the clinic when he’d brought Liryn last time, though if he was remembering the layout correctly, the door at the other end of the hall should lead to the patient area where Ezra was.

“What is it you needed to speak to Dr. Madowki about?” Thrawn asked, watching Liryn curiously until she stopped them at one of the doors lining the hallway. She looked up at him, hand poised to knock.

“What?” she said, sounding confused for a split second, “Oh, no, I wanted her to get you something for your ribs.” Thrawn narrowed his eyes and frowned at that.

“I was already examined by a medic aboard the  _ Chimaera _ ,” he reminded her, only to receive one of Liryn’s own stubborn frowns in return.

“Yes, but you obviously didn’t get any kind of treatment, or your bruises wouldn’t be this bad still,” Liryn insisted while crossing her arms, her tone telling him she was more than prepared to dig her heels in and argue the point. Thrawn opened his mouth to counter that, only to cut himself off with an involuntary hiss when Liryn reached out and lightly tapped his upper arm, right where one of the darker bands of bruising was. Her frown only deepened at his reaction, becoming much more visibly tinged with concern. “Please let her at least look at it?” Liryn asked after a short moment of hesitation, looking up at him with wide, imploring eyes. Thrawn took a deep breath and let it out through his nose, slow and even as he gingerly rubbed his arm. 

“Alright,” he acquiesced, shoulders relaxing as the sting of pain faded back to the dull ache he’d had since yesterday. There was really no reason to deny treatment after all; staying injured for any longer than absolutely necessary wouldn’t do anyone any favors. Except possibly Ezra, if he decided to try making a run for it, not that Thrawn thought he would attempt something like that quite so soon.

“Thank you,” Liryn said softly, reaching down to give his hand a quick squeeze, before she took it back to knock on the door. Thrawn could hear muffled movement on the other side, and after a brief wait it opened, revealing Dr. Madowki. She too looked much the same as she had before, the only noticeable difference being a pair of small charms, made of either metal or some kind of polished stone, attached to the gold thread on her lethorns.

“Liryn,” she greeted, then when she looked at Thrawn, “I see you’re back.” Her tone wasn't any different from when she’d addressed Liryn, so Thrawn felt confident assuming she wasn’t specifically displeased by that fact. “Was Chron not there?” she asked with a small frown, glancing behind them as if he might have been there and she’d only missed him. 

“No, he was,” Liryn assured her, “He’s just busy with someone else right now.” Dr. Madowki refocused on Liryn as she spoke, and began looking Thrawn over with a practiced eye once she’d finished.

“Hmm. Something to do with the star destroyer that arrived yesterday, I assume?” she wondered aloud after she was done eyeing Thrawn, “What is it you needed?”

“I have some rather heavy bruising,” Thrawn explained, “A basic medscan didn’t show any damage aside from that, but Liryn has asked me to submit to an examination regardless.” 

“I was hoping you might have something for it,” Liryn added.

“I’ll take a look and see what I can do,” Dr. Madowki said, brushing past them and starting down the hallway. “This way.” She led them through the door at the end of the hall and into an empty exam room, then spent the next ten minutes carefully prodding Thrawn and asking him questions. At the end of it, Dr. Madowki just put some bacta on any of the bruises she deemed to be bad enough to warrant it, which ended up being most of them, and sent them on their way. Thrawn felt a bit like he was wearing another full layer of clothing with how wrapped up his arms and torso were now, but he could already feel the full-body ache he had starting to dull and fade. They walked back into the reception area just as Chron and Ezra did – for his part, Ezra seemed to be in a bit of a better mood, and Chron stepped back behind the reception desk to return to his seat.

“Good news,” he said, smiling at Liryn, “Nothing but some minor bumps and bruises. It should all heal just fine on its own.” Ezra,looked between them and the door they’d come through, clearly curious, but Liryn either didn’t notice or just ignored it.

“Thanks Chron,” she said, starting for the door as she finally shot a glance at Ezra, “Come on, we’ve got stuff to do.” Kiran, who had sprawled out on the floor by the reception desk, jumped to his feet when he saw Liryn approaching the exit, bounding over to wait by it with obvious excitement. Ezra jogged over when it didn’t look like she was going to wait, giving Chron a quick wave over his shoulder as he did. He was a only a few steps behind Thrawn when they all got outside, and they watched for a moment as Kiran excitedly twined himself around Liryn’s legs, nearly tripping her several times as she tried to walk down the sidewalk. 

“ _ Kiran! _ ” she finally snapped, exasperated, and the strill froze, letting himself be pulled to walk beside her instead. Now that she’d wrangled Kiran, Liryn was able to lead them across the street to the clothing store, where Thrawn had gotten most of his winter gear at the last time he was on Nuxena. Liryn grabbed Kiran’s collar once they were inside, keeping him from running off into the store. “Okay, go pick out some stuff while I watch Kiran,” she told them.

“Why do you have to watch him?” Thrawn heard Ezra ask, already moving past them and towards the clothing racks. He was curious about that himself; as far as he’d ever seen Kiran was exceptionally well-behaved, even for what he knew of strills.

“Well for whatever reason, Kiran always goes  _ bananas _ in here,” Liryn answered, “I think it’s the smells from all the different places the clothes get imported from.” Sure enough, when Thrawn glanced back Kiran was still straining against Liryn’s grip, panting happily while whipping his head around. “Now go on, I don’t wanna be in here all day.” Thrawn was already nearly halfway done when Ezra started going through the racks himself, though that was mostly from having done this once before already. 

By the time Ezra was finished, carrying a large armfull of clothing, Liryn had foisted the job of holding Kiran’s collar off onto Thrawn, having cited the excuse of her arms getting tired. She paid the clerk, who’d appeared from somewhere in the back when she’d tapped a small buzzer on the checkout counter, and evenly distributed the bags between all three of them before leading the way back to the speeder.

“Okay!” Liryn said, “Now we just need to get some groceries, and then we’re all done.” She glanced between the speeder and the general store, tilting her head in thought for a moment. “I’m gonna move the speeder so we don’t have to carry everything all the way back here, you guys walk Kiran over.” Ezra opened his mouth as if he was going to protest, only to shut it again and watch Liryn block the strill from jumping into the speeder after her. Kiran watched forlornly as she pulled away from the curb, turning around to look at Thrawn imploringly, as if he had the answer to why he’d been so abruptly abandoned. He practically glued himself to Thrawn’s side when they started down the sidewalk, nosing his hand for reassurance even as the speeder parked down the street in plain view.

Surprisingly, Kiran didn’t immediately take off running when Liryn got out, instead perking up and trotting a short ways ahead of them, glancing back every few seconds and wiggling impatiently as he did. Thrawn noticed again that Ezra kept shooting him quick looks, a contemplative frown on his face, but he did his best to ignore it. Confronting him about it was pointless when he would most likely deny that he was even doing it in the first place, and Thrawn was confident he’d inadvertently reveal whatever was going on at some point anyway. They crossed the street once they were closer to where Liryn had parked; that was when Kiran’s restraint finally gave out and he darted straight to her in a blink, twirling around her legs again.

“I was gone for like five minutes, you ridiculous child,” Liryn sighed, catching hold of Kiran’s face and rubbing her hands over his cheeks and the top of his head. “Alright now, you know the rules, sit.” He did, and Liryn kept petting him until Thrawn and Ezra got to her too. “This’ll be quick,” she assured them, giving Kiran one last pat on the head before turning and walking inside. 

Like everywhere else on Nuxena so far, everything was the same as it had been the last time Thrawn was here, with the same human behind the checkout, his elbow propped propped on the countertop as he flipped through a physical booklet. He didn’t have a name tag this time either, but in the course of Liryn telling some roundabout story involving Elriss, Thrawn had learned his name was Alster, along with a few other things that he probably could have gone without knowing. Alster glanced up when they came in, gaze passing over Liryn and Thrawn with a friendly nod, before it landed on Ezra and he tilted his head curiously. 

Alster watched as Liryn practically dragged them through the store with the briskness of her pace, gathering things into a cart with the self-assurance of someone who knew exactly where everything was. They passed the deli area, from which Elriss was noticeably absent, and she hummed a short sound to herself, looking disappointed.

“I guess you don’t get to meet Elriss today,” Liryn told Ezra, shrugging a shoulder, though he didn’t look too upset about that.

“It’s really not a big deal,” he said, focus already sliding away from her to look around the store again. He’d been regularly lagging behind to examine whatever caught his eye, then hurrying to catch up before they passed out of sight. True to Liryn’s word, it didn’t take very long at all for her to lead them to the checkout, and Alster set aside what he was reading when he saw them coming.

“I wasn’t expecting to see you again so soon,” he said to Thrawn once they were close enough, his expression politely curious. He started ringing up the items as Liryn put them on the counter, barely needing to glance down as he did.

“I was not expecting to be back so soon,” Thrawn replied. He couldn’t help shooting Ezra a flat, pointed look, and Alster followed his gaze.

“And who’s this?” Alster asked Liryn as he gave Ezra a closer look, “The secret kid you never told any of us about?” His voice was lighthearted and teasing, but Liryn still paused in the middle of putting down the next item from the cart to frown at him.

“Do I _look like_ I’m old enough to have a kid his age?” she asked, crossing her arms dramatically and cocking her hip, “And we don’t even look anything alike.” While it was obvious to Thrawn that Liryn was just teasing Alster right back, Ezra seemed to actually be concerned that she really was offended. Alster just snorted, scanning the last couple of things and bagging them.

“Alright,” he said with a grin, “That just means he’s adopted then.” Liryn managed to keep up her serious facade for a few more seconds before she let out a short laugh, handing over a credit chip.

“ _ Obviously _ ,” she said, grinning and shaking her head, “Anyway, this is Ezra, he’s gonna be staying with me for awhile.” She grabbed one of the filled grocery bags and shoved it into Ezra’s arms. “Ezra, this is Alster, he owns the store and runs it with Elriss.” Liryn paused after grabbing another bag, giving Alster a curious look as she handed it off to Thrawn this time. “Where is Elriss, anyway?”

“Well, spring’s almost over, he’s probably up a tree somewhere counting elk,” Alster said with a shrug, handing Liryn’s change back to her. “You didn’t need something from the deli, did you?”

“Oh, no, just curious,” Liryn assured him, picking up the last bag and propping it on her hip, “Thanks, Alster.” She waved with one hand as she started walking away, and it took Ezra a few seconds of surprised confusion before he seemed to shake himself out of it, jogging to catch up. Thrawn had followed her out the door, and he paused to watch Ezra slide to a stop through the doorway after them. Liryn was too occupied with Kiran to notice, using her free hand to stop the strill before he could rear up like he had the first time Thrawn had met her.

“Yes, we’re back now,” she told Kiran, the words fond and gently exasperated. She pushed him down with a hand at the base of his neck, the strill resisting for a moment before settling all six feet back on the ground. “Go!” Liryn said in the higher, almost sing-song voice she sometimes spoke to the strill in, and Kiran went bouncing across the street, circling the speeder a few times as he waited for them to catch up. He jostled Thrawn on a pass by the trunk, where Liryn had stopped, and nearly knocked an unsuspecting Ezra over entirely. 

“Woah, hey!” Ezra complained, shooting a dirty look at Kiran’s retreating back as he adjusted the grip he had on his grocery bag. Liryn sighed as she popped the trunk open, setting her bag inside and then taking Thrawn’s from him.

“Kiran,” she called, putting the second bag snug next to the first, before her hand darted out to grab Kiran’s collar as the strill came speeding back past her. It only took the barest suggestion of a touch for Kiran to start slowing down, wicked looking claws unsheathing and digging into the ground to do so, leaving deep marks in the pavement in the process. 

“Stop being so rowdy,” Liryn ordered, releasing her grip on the strill after she’d stared him down for a few moments. She took Ezra’s bag from him once she was satisfied with whatever she saw in Kiran’s happily panting face, putting it with the others and closing the trunk with the soft  _ thunk _ of the latch catching. Ezra was eyeing Kiran’s now-sheathed claws with a wary expression when Liryn walked to the drivers side and opened the back door, startling when she whistled and the sound sent Kiran bounding after her. Thrawn started for the passenger side where he’d sat before, but after a quick glance between him and the strill, Ezra practically leapt to the front passenger door before Thrawn could take more than a few steps.

“Shotgun!” He announced, pulling the door open. Thrawn narrowed his eyes at him, but Ezra didn’t even notice, still keeping an eye on Kiran. Liryn had paused in the middle of getting in to raise an eyebrow at Ezra, shooting Thrawn a questioning glance too. It was plainly obvious what had spurred this sudden desire to take the front seat, especially since it meant that Ezra had to put his back to him. Thrawn just gave a minute shake of his head and changed direction, heading to the back door Liryn had left open.

“Alright, I guess,” she said, climbing fully into the speeder and starting it. “Not sure why it’s suddenly so important, but okay.” She shared another look with Thrawn in the rearview mirror, and he allowed himself a small, amused grin, before he was distracted by Kiran trying to climb into his lap. He made a brief attempt to dissuade him, but ended up letting Kiran lay his head and upper body on him for the ride, even that much of the strill barely managing to fit. He’d be covered in Kiran’s fur by the time they got there, but Thrawn had come to realize that it was a foregone conclusion when visiting Liryn. He absently started petting Kiran’s head as he thought, using the silence of the ride to focus on plans for starting what repairs could be made on the  _ Chimaera _ , and how to keep their presence on Nuxena secret from the rest of the galaxy. 


End file.
